Written by Chad Terhune and Rollo Ross
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles officials told most wildfire evacuees on Thursday to stay away from their homes for at least another week while emergency responders removed toxic waste from scorched neighborhoods and cut power and gas lines posing a hazard amid the rubble.
Landslides made the ruined hills even more dangerous, as flat structures no longer held the ground in place, and the ground was saturated with water from broken fire hoses and pipes, adding stress and pain to people suffering from the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles' history.
As wildfires continue for a 10th day, firefighters expressed relief that they withstood recent red flag conditions of high desert winds and low humidity without either of the two massive blazes growing larger.
But the National Weather Service warned that the respite from ocean breezes and cloud cover will be short, as dangerous fire weather is expected to return on Sunday.
Frustrated evacuees are eager to return home to assess the damage and salvage any memorabilia or medicine, but officials said it was too dangerous or too stressful for first responders still dealing with the immediate disaster, which has claimed at least 27 lives.
Frank McGrath, 46, was at the disaster center in Pasadena on Thursday. He, his wife Bridget, and their 9-year-old daughter lost their home in… Eaton (NYSE:) Fire and I now live with Bridget's mother nearby.
McGrath, a film and television editor, said he was keen to go back and search the ruins for any family heirlooms that had survived. But he knows he may have lost the quilts from his grandmother and late mother's paintings.
“Is my wedding ring buried somewhere?” He said. “There's obviously some hazardous materials in there. We want to get in, but we understand why it's limited.”
Even for people whose homes survived the fires, like Melanie Alonso, 28, a behavioral therapist who lives in Altadena, toxic ash from the fires and insurance company instructions not to start cleaning up until the company inspects the house means she can't return. house.
“It's like there's an ashtray over your nose,” Alonso, who returned to her street Thursday, said of her home covered in ash. “Insurance is like not starting to clean your house,” she added. “We were supposed to come back in a day, then a week…”
“You can see the emotional toll this disaster has taken on people, as I talked to people who lost their homes or who weren't sure about the condition of their homes or their lost pets. See the superimposition on them,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
The Palisades Fire on the west side of Los Angeles has consumed 23,713 acres (96 square kilometers) and is 27% contained, meaning firefighters controlled that percentage of the perimeter.
The Eaton Fire, which has burned 14,117 acres (57 square kilometers) in the foothills east of the city, is 55% contained, Cal Fire said.
Together, the two fires have charred 59 square miles (152 square kilometers) — an area larger than Paris or nearly three times the size of Manhattan. A series of smaller wildfires in Southern California have been completely or mostly under control.
At least 12,000 structures – many of them homes – were leveled or damaged, leaving 82,400 people under evacuation orders and another 90,400 under evacuation warnings.
Some people defied evacuation orders and died. Others found it impossible to abandon stricken neighbors and fought the flames with buckets.
John Carr said he stayed at his home in Pacific Palisades to protect it because rebuilding would be too expensive. When the flames began encroaching on his backyard, Carr said he jumped into action, jumping fences to tackle spot fires from all directions while using his hose not only on the flames but also on himself.
“I was up all night, all day. I got some sleep after things calmed down a little bit, after all the houses burned down. I probably hurt a rib when I jumped the fence there,” Carr said. “Some things in life are worth fighting for, you know.”
Los Angeles County officials said some people in evacuation zones will be allowed to return home as soon as a week, but for others it could take longer, as officials try to recover and identify charred human remains.
Damaged or destroyed homes are laden with hazardous materials, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must remove before local agencies can remove debris and restore downed utilities.
The massive amounts of debris and toxic materials will damage or clog the area's flood control system, which will need to be cleaned out before much-needed rain returns after nine months of dry weather so far, Los Angeles County Administrator Mark Pestrella said. District Public Works.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said police had experimented with accompanying people to their homes for short visits, but found that this obstructed the streets needed for fire engines and consumed the time of many police officers.
Along with the immediate cleanup, state and local officials are preparing for a massive reconstruction effort by suspending regulations that could cause delays.
Private meteorological firm AccuWeather estimates damage and losses at more than $250 billion, making the Los Angeles fires the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
The devastation has also complicated the city's preparations to host major sporting events such as part of the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics. Moving the Olympics elsewhere is unlikely, experts say.
